"Wrestling will now join the seven shortlisted sports -- baseball/softball, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, wakeboarding and wushu (a Chinese martial art) -- vying for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic program as an additional sport," the Olympic committee said in a statement.

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – Competition climbing began in the Soviet Union in the late 1940s, according to the International Federation of Sport Climbing.

Hide Caption

1 of 8

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – Wakeboarding is overseen by the International Wasterski & Wakeboard Federation and World Wakeboard Council, with 91 allied federations worldwide, according to the IWWF's website.

Hide Caption

2 of 8

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – The Federaton Internationale de Roller Sports is the international governing body for all roller-skating-based sports. Championships have been conducted in roller hockey, road racing, track racing and artistic roller skating, according to the federation's website.

Hide Caption

3 of 8

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – Baseball was last played as an Olympic sport in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.

Hide Caption

4 of 8

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – Squash failed in a bid to be added to the 2016 Games in Rio with the IOC favoring golf and seven-sides rugby instead.

Hide Caption

5 of 8

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – The World Karate Championships are held every two years. The most recent championships had more than 1,000 athletes from 116 countries participating, according to the governing World Karate Federation.

Hide Caption

6 of 8

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – Softball was voted out of the Olympics after the 2008 Games in Beijing. It is combining with baseball in a bid to get back into the Games in 2020.

Hide Caption

7 of 8

Photos:Photos: Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020

Shortlisted Olympics sports for 2020 – Wushu is a Chinese martial art, practiced as a means of combat in ancient times and by common citizens as a means of self-defense and physical training, according to the International Wushu Federation.

Hide Caption

8 of 8

JUST WATCHED

U.S. wrestler could see gold in London

MUST WATCH

U.S. wrestler could see gold in London03:56

The move sparked an international outcry and surprise. It prompted a number of the federation's delegates at the Phuket meeting to hold Martinetti responsible for the widely unpopular decision. Martinetti is Swiss. Lalovic is Serbian.

At a meeting in Russia in May, representatives from the eight sports will make presentations for inclusion in the 2020 Games. The executive board will recommend one. The final word will come in a vote at the Olympic committee's general session in Argentina in September.

The host city for the 2020 Summer Games will be chosen in September. Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid are the finalists.

The sport will be played at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Wrestling is seen as an iconic Olympic sport with a long tradition.

It was an integral part of the ancient Olympics and has been a competition in all but one of the modern Games since their inception in 1896, missing only the 1900 Games in Paris.

There are two types of Olympic wrestling competitions -- freestyle and Greco-Roman.

The governing body for the sport in the United States was so appalled at the decision that it started a Facebook page, "Keep Wrestling in the Olympics." Opponents of the decision also took to Twitter, posting with the hashtag #SaveOlympicWrestling.

Wrestling is a popular high school and college sport in the United States. It is immensely popular in many other countries, such as Russia, Turkey and Iran.